OP, can you elaborate on the narrative where investing in artificial intelligence becomes commercially successful? This is a serious question and not mocking. For instance: 1. Self-driving cars 2. Robotic housecleaning 3. Various projects with military applications - autonomous vehicles of various ...

Have a few questions about Solo 401Ks for small business that I haven't been able to find clear answers to. Hoping someone can lend their neurons to account for my distinct lack of the same... Assuming an LLC or Partnership structure with no employees/only partners: 1) Must all partners participate ...

$2800 a month at 3.625%. My taxes are ridiculous. About $9000 a year. Does that explain it? Yep... Although that is crazy!!!!! I pay $6200 in taxes on a house nearly twice the price, and thought that was high. No idea there were places in Ohio like that, usually this kind of tax rate are in states ...

Some good advice. One additional thought. Are you actually an independent contractor or are you employed by the electrical contractor? The under the table work sounds like you have at least some independent income. You may want to look into a SEP-IRA rather than a ROTH. SEPs allow you to stash away ...

definitely a nicer web site I used to agree with you on this point. However, Fidelity is rolling out a completely redesigned website - it is a total cluttered mess. I think they must have hired Yahoo's webdesigners. It seems to be going for tablet or mobile-friendly? Which is strange since they hav...

Both are good choices. Most of our various vehicles are with Fidelity, but my wife's 401K and some of the kid stuff is with Vanguard. I respect Vanguard more for the philosophy, pushing the envelope, etc., but I definitely prefer Fidelity from a pure customer standpoint. Their customer service is ab...

I don't see any real benefit to changing investment firms. Fidelity is a fantastic investment house and its made significantly better by the competition with Vanguard. So long as you stick to Fidelity or iShare funds it's great and frankly there's really no reason to stretch beyond the Spartan funds...

Now imagine a later-year member of Generation X. Your early investing life consisted of socking funds away early career - then the 2000 crash. You're young and might be working in high tech and/or .com start-up. In the tech crash you lost your job and half your portfolio, which might have been tech...

Howdy: After many years of being part of organizations who left me with deeply underwater options or grants that could barely cover my lunch bill after price depreciation...looks like I might finally have to make a decision about what to do with some compensation stock. In this particular case, the ...

I think everyone understands what you want, but I don't think everyone rebalances in the same fashion. I know I do not (my method requires an external spreadsheet tracking all investments, dollars and percentages with comparative goals and actuals). My spouse's 401K literally has a single button to ...

I don't think it needs to be so rigid. The easier to manage and the less complexity in your portfolio the happier you are sure to be. I personally use the Age-10 in bonds, just cause my risk tolerance feels a bit higher. And, I tend to only rebalance once per year (when I deposit my IRA funds) and t...

Hi Soylent (love the name and the movie!) 1) SEP-IRA or Solo-401K: It appears neither you nor your spouse are taking advantage of these options, yet both appear to qualify. You REALLY need to open up a SEP or Solo ASAP. These vehicles allow you to sock away about 25% of your gross income per year fo...

I have a SEP-IRA at Fidelity. Works well, can set it up online and you can easily connect a personal checking account for ACH transfers. Though I usually handle my yearly contributions in person. I imagine its pretty simple and straightforward everywhere including Vanguard.

I'd strongly advise that you look into a SEP-IRA or Solo 401k before a Roth. A tax deferred SEP, for example, will allow you to contribute a full 25% of your self employed income up to $51,000 per year - that's 10x higher than a Roth. They are as easy to open and manage as a traditional IRA, but the...

Howdy: Quick Backdoor Roth Qs I would appreciate some advice on. We've been ignoring IRA contributions for a number of years and using taxable accounts in their place (mostly to avoid non-deductible accounts), but have finally decided we should probably be taking advantage of the Backdoor Roth if at...

Started investing small amounts in mutual funds at 24. Started saving significantly 10+% mostly via 401K at 28 after landing a more significant job. Started indexing at 32 -- mother pointed me in the right direction! Almost entirely indexing by 35. Nearly a decade later and strangely enough my best ...

Both of my kids are in the Bightstart plan in IL -- it is one of the better plans...though of course returns for the last 7+ years have been virtually non existent, but the options are good, the costs are low and the State tax reduction is nice.

The in-service withdrawals seem very useful as you can schedule a limited number of distributions prior to retirement or leaving the company. They do seem to require a 2-3 year advance election however and that money goes into a special short-term account. I guess this might help to lessen the risk...

Wow. Very helpful thoughts already - thanks so much. The program is not nearly so generous as a yearly vest. It looks like it's a vest over 5 years for the match in equal parts, but that's where it gets muddy. It seems as if the vest goes yearly after 5 years in the plan...maybe Will need to ask que...

Howdy: Was hoping I could get some thoughts, opinions and maybe some cautions or just general advice regarding Deferred Comp Plans. They are completely new to me though I've been doing some fast and furious reading. We've had a recent job change that has added a deferred compensation plan into the m...

I'm customer of both Fidelity and Vanguard. I would say if you don't have a reason to prefer Fidelity (such as their solo 401k accepting SEP rollovers, their one brokerage account holding both ETFs and mutual funds, cash management account debit card with unlimited ATM rebates, local offices, etc.)...

Definitely stick with option 2 and stay with Fidelity. I've been with them for a few decades now and am completely happy. Vanguard forced them to compete on index funds which has made it better for everyone. I have small account with vanguard and find that Fido has a few benefits I like namely I fin...

I've been using Fidelity for nearly 20 years now -- started with a company 401K and then I just kept my accounts there. I am very pleased with them. My mother is sworn protector of the Vanguard realm. If not for my pleasant experience at Fidelity I'm sure i would be at Vanguard. They seem pretty int...

I'm just completely stunned that in 2006 he did not realize that we were in the middle of a MASSIVE housing bubble. I'm just joe consumer and it was readily apparent to me. I left California for Washington in 1998. After selling a home in 2002 and moving back to California that same year it was READ...

Howdy: Was hoping someone might have some new fund information or be able to point me in the right direction. I'm with Fidelity and was looking to simplify my international index allocation by going from two funds to one, but am not sure the allocation will hold up. There seems to be little informat...

Howdy: I've been a forum lurker and investment-style follower for a number of years now, but suddenly I find myself with a financial question (part finance, part investment) I hoped someone might be able to help me with -- hence my first post! Anyway, my financial conundrum seems simple, but I'm str...